House Budget Vote coming call by April 4th

Congressman Mike Castle of Delaware will offer an amendment next week in the House, when budget debate takes place. The Castle amendment will mirror the Specter – Harkin Amendment. The Senate passed the Specter-Harkin amendment restores those cuts by providing an additional $7 billion over the President’s budget request – allowing Congress to fund the FY07 Labor-HHS bill at the level enacted two years ago, in FY05.

Castle told a crowd of Education and Health advocates Tuesday morning on Capital Hill:
“I will attempt to amend the budget resolution on the House Floor to include $7 billion the Senate added to domestic discretionary and to have 302 2 (b) allocations included in future budgets. My message is clear: I will not vote for a House Budget Resolution that would result in real cuts to critical federal investments in education, health care, housing, veterans’ services, social and community block grants AND encourage my colleagues who share these priorities to do the same.

Call 202-225-3121 to talk to your representative and ask them to support the Castle initiative.

House Budget Committee Action

This is from the Committee for Education Funding (CEF).

Representative DeLauro (D-CT) will offer a $7 billion amendment for increased funding for education, health, and social services at today’s House budget committee mark-up of the FY07 House budget resolution. A vote is expected sometime around 1pm. The amendment is the same as the Specter-Harkin amendment that passed on the Senate floor two weeks ago. See attached talking points.

· Yesterday Rep. Michael Castle (R-DE) held a standing room only rally at the Capitol with education and health advocates to demand $7 billion more in funding for discretionary programs in the House budget resolution.

· Castle is leading an effort, among moderate Republicans to make sure the House budget resolution contains a $7 billion increase for education and health. If it does not, he publicly announced he and other moderates will work to defeat it on the floor.

House Budget Committee Amendment Pending

The House Budget Committee is expected to begin working on their spending/revenue plan starting March 29th. It is anticipated that the following week will see the measure on the House floor.

Represenative DeLauro (D-CT) has said that she will offer an amendment to restore cuts to education, health and labor programs.

The Labor-HHS- ED appropriations bill funds the federal programs that keep America competitive and provide health, education, and job opportunities to those who need it most. But those programs are in danger under the President’s proposed FY07 budget, which would slash $4.2 billion from the FY06 Labor-HHS-ED bill and is $7 billion below the level in the FY05 bill.

Just as in the Senate the Specter-Harkin amendment, the DeLauro amendment restores those cuts by providing an additional $7 billion over the President’s budget request – allowing Congress to fund the FY07 Labor-HHS-ED bill at the level enacted two years ago, in FY05. Funding is provided by increasing the cap on FY08 advance appropriations by $7 billion.

Key Labor-HHS-ED programs that are endangered by the President’s budget

Education Programs: The President’s budget eliminates 42 programs, including all the vocational and technical education programs, Educational Technology State Grants, GEAR UP, Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities State Grants, TRIO Talent Search and Upward Bound.

Student Financial Aid: The President’s budget freezes the maximum Pell Grant award at $4,050, the same amount as four years ago, while tuition costs have risen dramatically.

National Institutes of Health: The President’s budget cuts funding for 18 of the 19 institutes at NIH. Funding for cancer research would be cut by $40 million.

Human Services for the Poor: The President’s budget cuts the Social Services Block Grant by $500 million and completely eliminates the Community Services Block Grant.

The Senate budget resolution says it has more funding for health and education than the President’s budget does. Yet it includes the same total amount for discretionary spending. Therefore, there is no guarantee that the alleged health and education increases will ever materialize in the Labor-HHS-ED appropriations bill. The only way to ensure more funding for Labor-HHS programs is to add money to the total spending level.

Every health, education, and job training program will benefit under this amendment. If Congress has to write a Labor-HHS-ED appropriations bill that’s $4.2 billion lower than last year, as the President has proposed, every program is in danger of being reduced or eliminated. Restoring funding to the FY05 level will make it possible to save programs that are on the President’s chopping block and provide increases for key health, education and workforce initiatives.

Win on the Senate Budget Amendment

Thank you for all your support, your voice made a difference.


The Specter-Harkin $7 billion amendment has passed on the Senate floor by a vote of 73-27.

Senate moving a budget amendment to move education funding

Sometime between Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday the Senate is likely to vote on an amendment to increase funding by $7 billion for discretionary programs with the plan that this money will go to education, health and labor programs. The $7 billion would bring funding back to the FY 2005 levels!

Please contact your Senators and ask them to support the Specter/Harkin budget amendment to increase education, health and labor programs by $7 billion.

You can call 202-224-3121 - the capitol switchboard and ask for your senator -by name or your state.

Senate Budget Amendment pending

Sens. Harkin and Specter are likely to co-sponsor a bi-partisan floor amendment to the FY07 budget resolution when it goes to the Senate floor this week. The amendment may offer $7 billion over the President’s proposed discretionary cap in an effort to get the overall budget for function 500 back to the FY05 level. The amendment is not likely to include an offset.